Reggie Bullock Potential

Is Bullock overhyped? Sometimes he's great on both ends of the floor and sometimes he's just a chucker. I think he has the potential to be kind of like Jimmy Butler or Kwahi Leonard. But sometimes he's just plain bad. Can he be our next starting small forward?

cleepers

04/04/2014 - 04:10 PM PST

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Hasn't really impressed me so far. That's not to say he won't improve, but some CTB posters have definitely laid on the hype a little too thick.

Despite all the calls we've had for him to start, I'm hoping he's nothing more than blowout-fodder in the playoffs.

MunoValente

04/04/2014 - 04:19 PM PST

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He's not remotely as well rounded at someone like Kawhi Leonard. Offensively he has good potential as catch and shoot player, but basically no other game. His assist numbers are remarkably low. Defensively he has good tools, but he's not all the way there mentally yet. Maybe someone like Rasual Butler, Mickael Pietrus or James Jones would be a decent comparison.

I don't think he's over-hyped, he went 25th in a mediocre draft, so given the expectations that should go with that, he's an ok prospect.

ClipperDB

04/04/2014 - 04:44 PM PST

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He has a lot to improve on, but has a lot of potential. The deciding factor will be how much he wants to be great and how hard he is willing to work. If he works like BG, he will be fine. If he works like Chris Kaman, he will never realize potential.

CP3Heliflopter

04/04/2014 - 04:54 PM PST

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He is a 25th pick in a very weak draft. At best he is a poor man's Kawhi Leonard which would be fine. Yea he does show some chucking tendencies.

TheDude

04/04/2014 - 05:26 PM PST

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He has the potential to be packaged with Dudley for a big this summer. That's about all I see from him. He's a shooter who can't make shots at least so far, his value has been that he hasn't gotten hurt and has been a last resort fill in for much of the 2nd half of the season.

CapsNClips

04/04/2014 - 05:28 PM PST

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I wouldn't compare him to Leonard. His ceiling probably ls someone like Trevor Ariza, but I think he'll end up being a player like Dorell Wright.

Laak

04/04/2014 - 05:48 PM PST

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Yes overhyped by some posters here, has potential to be an okay role player. I don't see him fulfilling his potential with the Clips though. This stacked team's current goal is to win a championship, not develop rookies. Like TheDude said, trade him with Dudley over the summer.

Agent0

04/04/2014 - 06:51 PM PST

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His potential is more Danny Green level. Leonard is a little more dynamic as players than what Bullock looks like.

He is a bit of a quick fire on his shots at times though, but the confidence is good

Jerediscool

04/04/2014 - 10:07 PM PST

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Stop that right now!! He isn't even in the same conversation as either Jimmy Butler or (especially) Kwahi Leonard. Comments like that are what make him over rated. He's a bench guy who hasn't developed squat this season. Maybe he's hung out with Dudley too much this season.

=Om@R=

04/04/2014 - 10:35 PM PST

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Pick nmero 25. I expect him to just learn and develop. We shouldn't expect nothing from him now. He will be a decent defender and a shooter that's it. I'll say more like a Safalosha type guy. Shoot rebound play D, move on

ClipperKyle32

04/04/2014 - 11:03 PM PST

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He has the potential to be traded by the Clippers. Wiaved by that team and picked up by the San Antonio Spurs and win like Most Improved and be their starting 2 guard and he....

His offense is limited, but we knew that already. His greatest potential is on the defensive end. He was drafted as a role player. I still feel he can be a pretty good one.

marten81

04/05/2014 - 10:58 AM PST

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what i like about his 3 is the quick release, work on it and get it to a solid 36+% hell be very useful, and might grow in to a starter as a 3 specialist and defensive player, but I'm not yet sold on his defense tho. And i still think he should have gotten a few games in the d league, to stay in the game a bit more.

ClippersDA

04/05/2014 - 11:37 AM PST

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He doesn't need to shoot every time he touches ball

TheThinkingSomething

04/05/2014 - 11:44 AM PST

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This. His ceiling is Danny Green when Green is playing well. His floor is Danny Green when Green is playing poorly.

tense2

04/05/2014 - 02:09 PM PST

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Don't think he's shooting every time he's actually touching the ball, but if I remember correctly, Doc's wants/told him to shoot when he's open.

clipperboy24

04/05/2014 - 06:20 PM PST

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I think some people mistake overhyped versus wanting him to play because we had not other solid option. I have always liked his rebounding ability and quick shooting release and overall shooting. He is a very poor ball handler and struggles with confidence to attack the rim. If he could improve those he could be a solid player for us. His playing time has been too inconsistent which I think has affected his development.

Oh and for the poster above who said he is no jimmy butler... Jim butler was not great in many people's eyes his rookie year especially getting very few minutes behind Deng. But he was a player I thought had some solid potential just like bullock. His second year he really improved and now with the playing time he's turned out to be a steal in that draft at the 30th pick. I think bullock could be something like that if he learns to slash, he has shown he can, he just needs to do it

Agent0

04/05/2014 - 08:03 PM PST

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Practice breeds confidence, this team needs results, he might loose confidence if he isn't performing when the team needs it (eg: Dudley), so I think the minutes have been good.

I think what we kind of concluded as the season went on is true. If he had shown enough in practice to warrant more playing time he would have gotten the playing time. He's a rookie, he was the 25th pick, and his upside is a solid role player, so how good he could be in his first year was already limited if his shot and defense didn't translate super quickly. He's played enough total minutes (357) and enough non-garbage time minutes to give us a sense of his current level of productive ability, and he's currently shooting 30.9% 3PT, could improve his shot selection, has shown flashes defensively, but also gotten lost, so he's a rookie role player.

He's obviously not yet at the stage where he can be a fully positive player on the court, but we can't really make any conclusions until next season after he's seen where he's at against NBA players and then works out to tighten up the areas he's deficient in and improve the ones he has some skills in.

In terms of the comparison to Jimmy Butler. Butler in college was a slasher, Reggie was a shooter. Butler his last season in college averaged 6.8 FTA/G. Reggie shot less total FT's his whole career in college (118) than Butler did in his last season (240), so that gives us an idea of whether Reggie has the tools to be a slasher at the college level, not to talk of in the NBA. If he could develop adequate or significant ability to slash, he would have shown some semblance of it at some point in his playing career and he hasn't.

Butler has improved, but in terms of production, Butler hasn't made any massive jump, but Butler since day 1 has been a much more physical and aggressive defender than anything we've seen from Reggie, even if you compare them in college, that's their biggest difference. Going from 8.5 MPG to 26.0 MPG to 38.2 MPG will make you stats nicer, but he's still at the same level of scoring ability as a Bullock (more efficient of course) because while he can slash, he can't shoot that well still. He doesn't have dynamic ball handling abilities to break down defenses consistently, so he can't get shots that way either. His per 36 scoring over his 3 year NBA career: 10.9 pts, 11.9 pts, 12.5 pts, so gradual increase, but he's a 4th-5th option scorer in terms of scoring production on a team. Sure, in February and March, he averaged about 14 PPG, but that's just a product of more minutes (40 MPG), not of increased scoring ability.

Now of course, because Butler can already slash and get to the line decently as an NBA player, has always been a low turnover player, can score well in transition, if he can continue to improve his shooting, it gives him more scoring opportunities as shots he would previously pass up, he can now take and that would increase his scoring ability. Reggie on the other hand would have a much harder road in trying to become and adequate slasher at the highest level of basketball when never showing that ability at the lower levels and until now.

Reggie doesn't need to try to become a player he isn't. He isn't a good enough player where teams will give him the opportunity to even go out and start trying to be a slasher, he needs to become a guy that shoots 37%+ 3PT (40%+ ideally), and defends very well, that is what will keep him in the NBA because teams want that.

He'll need to get a little stronger probably, and he'll need to be on top of his game defensively night in and night out, but I think he can do those things as well as improving his shooting to a high level. Will he, I obviously have no clue, but he certainly has the ability to be able to do those things and be a very valuable role player. His peak based on his current skill-set is probably scoring about 12-14 PPG with 5 rebounds and 1-2 assists while shooting 40%+ 3PT and defending at a high level, of course that's if he's getting the minutes to produce like that too. Maybe he's playing like 28 MPG at best, so that's still like a 10/4/2 player.

clipperboy24

04/05/2014 - 10:08 PM PST

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^^^ disagree.

Agent0

04/06/2014 - 12:28 AM PST

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Disagree with everything, wow, that's amazing, lol. That's perfectly fine though, you have the freedom to disagree and time will tell

If you disagree with him not being likely to develop any significant slashing game, well I'll give you some empirical stuff that isn't just opinion that says probably not:

"He operates one-on-one less than any player in this group at just 0.4 times per-game and made just 21% of his pull-up jumpers" - Draftexpress scoring report

So sure, he could learn to become a slasher in the NBA, but that's the wide spread sort of any player could become anything kind of thing. Yea, DJ could become a shooter, Jared Dudley technically could become a very good ball handler, but those aren't reasonable expectations, they would be huge surprises for those things to happen. If he was a shooter who had defensive potential, one on one potential and potential as an NBA slasher., he wouldn't have been the 25th pick in the draft.

...but hey, it's not impossible.

ClipperPostman

04/06/2014 - 02:14 AM PST

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Many of us wanted Reggie to be something he most likely won't

"A steal at 25th overall".

Watching Reggies game I feel Agent has really hit the head on the

nail.

If he focuses on developing his strengths he will be a solid

back up 2 guard on a contender.

A guy who can come in catch and shoot, and play D against

another Bench 2 guard.

He can average somewhere between 10-14ppg and be a

3 specialist.

His slashing is horrid, I honestly wouldn't waste time trying

to "Develop" that. He just doesn't have it.

He got Monster blocked on a 1 on 1 fast break by

RANDY FOYE (Enough said).

All jokes aside I think if reggie really applies himself he will

always have a job in the NBA. One of those guys who pops

up every few years on someones bench and your like "Hey theirs

Reggie".

Sort of like an Al Harrington. You never really know where he is

at, but you know he is on someones bench somewhere.

I really like Reggie, but I think it would be best for him and the clippers

to trade him to a sub 500 team where he can actually get some

PT.

just my opinion.

ClipSince7thGrade

04/06/2014 - 03:13 PM PST

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I think that he really can be developed into our new starting SF but it is going to take time, 2-3 years I'd say. If we're willing to wait that long I think the pay off will be great.

ClippersDA

04/06/2014 - 03:14 PM PST

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My fear with him is he isn't rangy or athletic. The position is moving towards that. He doesn't seem to have great length - hurting the 3 and D thing

Demock

04/06/2014 - 05:00 PM PST

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Horrible defense by Bullock. There goes his dream of being a good perimeter defender.